Tag: ethnographic research

Awareness is always the first step in solving any problem. By being aware that people including ourselves are subject to different types of biases is a good starting point. There is an another way of making sure that our research results are as clean and valid as possible. (BTW if you haven’t read the first post … Continue reading Triangulation in user research

The so-called discovery phase is usually the beginning phase of a project (see all phases of a project here). You typically consider new ideas and opportunities. Your goal here is to discover the most important and often unmet needs that users have with the products and services around them.

When teams ask me what type of Ux research method I would recommend, I usually ask one very important question in return: What stage are you at in the development process? Depending on the answer I recommend one method rather than another.

For many people Ux research is synonym of usability testing and in fact it has become one of the most popular UX methods. It is a valuable tool. It isn’t however always the most suitable.

Ethnographic research: we all have heard about it. This approach was taken over from anthropology where a researcher would completely immerse him or herself in the community/group/society he/she wants to study. In UX we practice a lighter form of ethnographic research but the basics are the same: get to know your subject of interest by getting … Continue reading An expert view of ethnographic research in design

Where do smart ideas come from? A smart idea starts with a problem or a need. Innovators are the ones who first see a problem and then create a simple, ingenious solution for it. This is the process, simplified of course. Let’ s look at 5 examples of innovative ideas and see how a problem was the source of a smart solution.